Fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger fighters in northern Sri Lanka has left at least 18 dead, the military has said.
At least 17 of the dead were separatist fighters, while a Sri Lankan soldier was also reported killed in Saturday's clashes.
Sri Lankan troops attacked two Tamil Tiger bunkers in Vavuniya after being fired upon, killing at least six, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told AP.
The military said several more rebels were killed in separate clashes in Vavuniya and Mannar districts.
There was no independent confirmation of the deaths and the Tamil Tigers could not be reached for comment.
Political leader killed
The deaths are the latest in a series of heavy clashes between the two sides in recent days.
On Wednesday Sri Lanka's military said 52 Tamil Tigers and 11 soldiers died, while the Tamil Tigers said 20 soldiers had died and only one of their fighters had been killed.
Last week an air strike killed SP Thamilselvan, the leader of the Tigers' political wing, dashing hopes of ending the two-decade conflict.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers, have been fighting for an independent homeland since 1983. The conflict has claimed more than 70,000 lives so far.